HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Transcription

1 THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 9, 2005 Serial No Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations ( Available via the World Wide Web: relations U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) ; DC area (202) Fax: (202) Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

2 COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Vice Chairman DAN BURTON, Indiana ELTON GALLEGLY, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida DANA ROHRABACHER, California EDWARD R. ROYCE, California PETER T. KING, New York STEVE CHABOT, Ohio THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado RON PAUL, Texas DARRELL ISSA, California JEFF FLAKE, Arizona JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia MARK GREEN, Wisconsin JERRY WELLER, Illinois MIKE PENCE, Indiana THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida JOE WILSON, South Carolina JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina CONNIE MACK, Florida JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas TED POE, Texas HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman TOM LANTOS, California HOWARD L. BERMAN, California GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey SHERROD BROWN, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California ROBERT WEXLER, Florida ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York BARBARA LEE, California JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California ADAM B. SCHIFF, California DIANE E. WATSON, California ADAM SMITH, Washington BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE RON PAUL, Texas JERRY WELLER, Illinois, Vice Chairman KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida CONNIE MACK, Florida MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey GRACE NAPOLITANO, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts BARBARA LEE, California MARK WALKER, Subcommittee Staff Director JESSICA LEWIS, Democratic Professional Staff Member TED BRENNAN, Professional Staff Member DAN S. GETZ, Professional Staff Member BRIAN WANKO, Staff Associate (II) VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

3 C O N T E N T S WITNESSES The Honorable Roger F. Noriega, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State The Honorable Adolfo A. Franco, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, United States Agency for International Development The Honorable Lorne W. Craner, President, International Republican Institute Mr. Kenneth Wollack, President, National Democratic Institute Mr. Stephen C. Johnson, Senior Policy Analyst for Latin America, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, The Heritage Foundation Arturo A. Valenzuela, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, Georgetown University LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING The Honorable Dan Burton, a Representative in Congress from the State of Indiana, and Chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere: Prepared statement... 4 The Honorable Roger F. Noriega: Prepared statement The Honorable Adolfo A. Franco: Prepared statement The Honorable Lorne W. Craner: Prepared statement Mr. Kenneth Wollack: Prepared statement Mr. Stephen C. Johnson: Prepared statement Arturo A. Valenzuela, Ph.D.: Prepared statement Page (III) VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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5 THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY IN LATIN AMERICA WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2005 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:42 p.m. in room 2255, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dan Burton (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding. Mr. BURTON. The Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of International Relations will come to order. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee is now in session. I ask unanimous consent that all Members and witness written and opening statements be included in the record and without objection, so ordered. I apologize for the crowded quarters. We wanted to get in the main Committee room so everybody would have a little more space, and I apologize for the cramped quarters, but they had another Committee hearing already scheduled. Next time I will knock heads so we get a bigger room, especially when we have Mr. Noriega here, our very important Assistant Secretary of State. I ask unanimous consent that all articles, exhibits and extraneous or tabular material referred to by Members or witnesses be included in the record and without objection, so ordered. I ask unanimous consent that any Member who may attend today s hearing be considered as a Member of the Subcommittee, for the purposes of receiving testimony and questioning witnesses and without objection so ordered. As many of you know, I served as Chairman of this Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere over 10 years ago and I am glad to be back. I know I look a lot younger than that. That is supposed to be funny. We don t want any comments from the peanut section there. My colleague from Massachusetts is a good buddy of mine, but he gives me a hard time. When I chaired this Subcommittee from 1995 to 1997, much of Latin America and the Caribbean region were just starting to embrace the concepts of individual freedom and democracy that we, in many ways, take for granted as citizens of the United States. Over the years, Latin America and the Caribbean, with the notable exception of Cuba, have made remarkable progress toward democracy. (1) VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

6 2 I believe much of the credit for this progress is due to the courageous leadership of many democracy-minded people in the region who grew weary of the brutal dictatorships and the advances of Soviet and later Cuban Communists. But these brave patriots could not have succeeded without the dedication of people like former President Ronald Reagan and others in the U.S. and elsewhere who invested in the future of these countries by helping to plant the seeds of democracy and nurturing them over the years. As I reacquaint myself with the issues of this hemisphere, I am pleased to see that the investment of so many is paying off, but I am under no illusions that the work is complete. There is still danger to the new democracies in the region. Several of our neighbor nations now face considerable challenges to their maturing democracies. Persistent poverty and I met with a number of the Ambassadors just the other night at the Peruvian Ambassador s residence and they told me that persistent poverty, violent guerilla conflicts, non-democratic leaders, drug trafficking, corruption, terrorist infiltration and increasing crime are making it difficult for many of the countries in the region in order to see the value of democracy. One of the more important issues that they raised with me was the poverty issue and that is why we think that trade is becoming more and more important so we can create flourishing economies that will create new jobs for the people of the region. As we all know, Colombia is valiantly fighting a 40-year-old civil war and although the Government of President Uribe is seeing some success, the violence of the FARC and the ELN and the AUC, all listed by the State Department as foreign terrorist groups and fueled by profits from drugs and arms trafficking, could still bring down the oldest democracy in South America. President Uribe and his daring Plan Patriota is engaging these rebels with vigor, but these groups possess the capabilities and the will to carry out the struggle indefinitely. And without our consistent support and constant vigilance, the gains made in Colombia could and may be lost. Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru do not have to deal with widespread military insurgencies, but all had faced varying levels of political instability in the last 2 years. Weak leadership, corruption, violent internal political movements and drug trafficking have led to the political isolation or destruction of sitting Presidents. For example, ongoing political upheaval, caused by persistent protests over natural gas reserves and coca production, has now forced President Mesa of Bolivia to tender his resignation. President Mesa took over for former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada when violent protests forced him to flee Bolivia less than 2 years ago. President Chavez of Venezuela, although democratically elected, is seemingly and deliberately moving away from the democratic principles he once claimed to espouse, especially since his August, 2004 victory in the recall referendum. Since that time, Chavez has made bold movements toward carrying out his Bolivarian Revolution. Although the Bolivarian Revolution is supposed to espouse the rights of the poor and other social VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

7 3 interests, President Chavez appears to be using it to justify a series of actions, which are less and less democratic. Recently, President Chavez increased the size of the Supreme Court so that he could appoint more pro-chavez jurists to the bench. A few months ago, he signed a bill restricting the freedom of the press so as to squelch the voices of opposition to his rule. Just a week or so ago, President Chavez even went so far as to publicly and vocally embrace socialism as his ideology of choice. As history has shown us, socialism and democratic ideals rarely coexist in the same state. President Chavez critics claim, as do many here in the United States, that he is also trying to increase his influence in neighboring countries as well as elsewhere in the world. Evidence continues to accumulate that President Chavez is actively supporting leftist movements in Colombia and Bolivia. In addition, his close friends and ties to Cuba s dictator Fidel Castro another avowed socialist with a penchant for trying to export violent revolution are well known. In Uruguay, a former leftist guerilla, Tabare Vazquez, has just been sworn in as President. While this in and of itself is not a threat to democracy in Uruguay, it does warrant a closer look and I plan to visit these gentlemen, Mr. Chavez and the new President of Uruguay, along with my colleagues, to try to get to know them better, create a dialogue that hopefully will create a better understanding and better relations between us and their countries and hopefully increase the prospects for long-term democratic institutions. After 20 years of bloody conflict, the Central American countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua are developing stronger democratic institutions. However, political corruption and a growing outbreak of violent crimes, especially by gangs, have posed serious challenges to these young democracies. While Guatemala has made significant progress in its peace process, greater effort needs to be made toward improving the government s human rights policies, including vigorously investigating and bringing to justice illegal and heavily-armed groups and clandestine security organizations. Corruption is a cancer that is eating away at many of the democracies of Central America. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama have bravely taken action to fight it and all have resolved to investigate and prosecute anyone involved with corruption, including former leaders. Pledging to fight corruption is easy, though actually fighting it is hard. The President of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolanos, has stepped up to the challenge and attacked corruption head on by prosecuting former President Aleman for reportedly embezzling more than $100 million in his country s limited assets. Aleman is now in prison and, again, pledging to fight corruption is easy. To actually fight and win it, takes a lot more effort and efforts like these are desperately needed. Finally, last but not least, Haiti, the hemisphere s poorest nation continues to be plagued by violence and political instability. Since President Aristide s departure in February 2004, Haiti s interim government has been propped up by a United Nation s stabilization VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

8 4 mission. Their efforts to ensure a secure and stable environment and to restore the rule of law in Haiti are showing signs of strain, and I fear that Haiti continues to be a powder keg waiting to explode. I believe there can be little doubt that democracy is under serious threat in main parts of the Western Hemisphere. Simply promoting democracy as an alternative to socialism or totalitarianism will not be enough. As we did throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the United States, in conjunction with other democracies throughout the world, must become more engaged in solving the persistent problems currently facing Latin America. Efforts to reduce poverty, strengthen democratic institutions, develop independent judiciaries and provide markets for local products are just a few of the ways we can proactively confront these issues. It is here where we must focus our resources to help protect the gains already made and to continue to push for the lasting peace, prosperity and security that only a true democracy can provide. As Chairman of this Subcommittee, along with the support of my good friend and Ranking Minority Member, Bob Menendez, I intend to pursue an aggressive agenda of oversight and investigation with the ultimate goal of strengthening democracy in our hemisphere. We look forward to working with our State Department and after we take trips down to and I hope to see every single country in Central and Latin America in the next year to 18 months. And I hope all of my colleagues will see fit whenever possible to join me and my Vice Chairman, who has been very active in the region, Mr. Weller, who will be taking codels when I can t go down there, by himself and with other Members. We intend to try to create a dialogue with every single country in this hemisphere to make sure that we do everything we can as a partner, not as a big brother telling other countries in Latin America how to run their countries, but as a partner. We want to be helpful in creating strong and lasting democracies and helping with the poverty problems that have been very persistent in those countries. We also intend to, after we make these trips into these countries, to come back and have a dialogue with the new Secretary of State and the State Department and the Administration so that they have firsthand knowledge from Members of Congress what is going on and what needs to be done to continue the democratic principles that we all hold so dear. With that, I yield to my good buddy who has on a blue shirt today, Mr. Menendez, for his opening remarks. [The prepared statement of Mr. Burton follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DAN BURTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CON- GRESS FROM THE STATE OF INDIANA, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE As many of you may know, I served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere over ten years ago ( ) and I am glad to be back. I am also glad to be back working with my colleague Bob Menendez, the Subcommit- VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

9 5 tee s Ranking Minority Member, and I want to thank him and his staff for all of their help preparing today s hearing. When I Chaired this Committee ten years ago, much of Latin America and the Caribbean region were just starting to embrace the concepts of individual freedom and democracy that we, in many ways, take for granted as citizens of the United States. Over the years, Latin America and the Caribbean, with the notable exception of Cuba, have made remarkable progress toward democracy. I believe much of the credit for this progress is due to the courageous leadership of many democracyminded people in the region who grew weary of the brutal dictatorships and the advances of Soviet and later Cuban communists. But, these brave patriots could not have succeeded without the dedication of people like former President Ronald Reagan and others in the U.S. and elsewhere who invested in the future of these countries by helping to plant the seeds of democracy and nurturing them over time. As I reacquaint myself with the issues of this hemisphere, I am pleased to see that the investment of so many is paying off. But, I am under no illusions that the work is complete. The reality is that today, democratic progress in Latin America and the Caribbean is being measured by inches. And, as the committee will soon hear from our distinguished witnesses, while democracy is still holding on, it is not without its opponents, and there is a real danger that parts of the region could slide backwards into tyranny. Several of our neighbor nations now face considerable challenges to their maturing democracies. Persistent poverty, violent guerrilla conflicts, non-democratic leaders, drug trafficking, corruption, terrorist infiltration and increasing crime are making it difficult for many in the region to see the value of democracy. As we all know, Colombia is valiantly fighting a 40-year old civil war, and although the government of President Uribe is seeing some success, the violence of the FARC, ELN and the AUC all listed by the State Department as Foreign Terrorist Groups and fueled by profits from drugs and arms trafficking, could still bring down the oldest democracy in South America. President Uribe, and his daring Plan Patriota, is engaging these rebels with vigor, but these groups possess the capabilities and the will to carry on the struggle indefinitely. Without our consistent support, and constant vigilance the gains made in Colombia will be lost. Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru do not have to deal with wide-spread military insurgencies but all have faced varying levels of political instability in the past two years. Weak leadership, corruption, violent internal political movements and drug trafficking have led to the political isolation or destruction of sitting presidents. For example, ongoing political upheaval, caused by persistent protests over natural gas reserves and coca production, has now forced President Mesa of Bolivia to tender his resignation. President Mesa took over for former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada when violent protests forced him to flee Bolivia less than two years ago. President Chavez of Venezuela, although democratically elected, is seemingly and deliberately moving away from the democratic principles he once claimed to espouse, especially since his August 2004 victory in the recall referendum. Since that time, Chavez has made bold movements toward carrying out his Bolivarian Revolution. Although the Bolivarian Revolution is supposed to espouse the rights of the poor and other social interests, President Chavez, appears to be using it to justify a series of actions which are less and less democratic. Recently, President Chavez increased the size of the Supreme Court, so that he could appoint more Pro-Chavez jurists to the bench. A few months ago, he signed a bill restricting the freedom of the press, so as to squelch the voices of opposition to his rule. Just a week or so ago, President Chavez even went so far as to publicly and vocally embrace socialism as his ideology of choice. As history has shown us, Socialism and Democratic ideals rarely co-exist in the same State. President Chavez s critics claim, as do many here in the United States, that he is also trying to increase his influence in neighboring countries as well as elsewhere in the world. Evidence continues to accumulate that President Chavez is actively supporting leftist movements in Colombia and Bolivia. In addition, his close ties to Cuba s Dictator, Fidel Castro another avowed Socialist with a penchance for trying to export violent revolution are well known. In Uruguay, a former leftist guerilla, Tabare Vazquez, has just been sworn in as President. While this, in and of itself, is not a threat to democracy in Uruguay, it does warrant a closer look. After twenty years of bloody conflict, the Central American countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are developing stronger democratic institutions. However, political corruption and a growing outbreak of violent crimes, especially by gangs, have posed serious challenges to these young democracies. While Guatemala has made significant progress in its peace process, greater effort needs to be made toward improving the government s human rights policy, including VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

10 6 vigorously investigating and bringing to justice illegal and heavily-armed groups, and clandestine security organizations. Corruption is a cancer that is eating away at many of the democracies of Central America. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama have bravely taken action to fight it, and all have resolved to investigate and prosecute anyone involved with corruption, including former leaders. Pledging to fight corruption is easy though, actually fighting it is hard. The President of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolanos, has stepped up to the challenge and attacked corruption head on, by prosecuting former President Arnoldo Aleman, for reportedly embezzling more than $100 million in his country s limited assets. Aleman is now imprisoned. Again, pledging to fight corruption is easy. To actually fight it and win, more efforts like this are desperately needed. And finally, last but not least, Haiti the hemisphere s poorest nation continues to be plagued by violence and political instability. Since President Aristide s departure in February 2004, Haiti s interim government has been propped up by a United Nations Stabilization Mission. Their efforts to ensure a secure and stable environment and to restore the rule of law in Haiti are showing signs of strain and I fear that Haiti continues to be a powder keg waiting to explode. I believe there can be little doubt that democracy is under serious threat in main parts of the Western Hemisphere. Simply promoting democracy as an alternative to Socialism or totalitarianism will not be enough. As we did throughout the 1980s and early 90s, the United States, in conjunction with other democracies throughout the world must become more engaged in solving the persistent problems currently facing Latin America. Efforts to reduce poverty, strengthen democratic institutions, develop independent judiciaries and provide markets for local products are just a few of the ways we can proactively confront these issues. It is here where we must focus our resources to help protect the gains already made, and to continue to push for the lasting peace, prosperity and security that only a true democracy can provide. As Chairman of this Subcommittee, with the support of my good friend the Ranking Minority Member Menendez, I intend to pursue an aggressive agenda of oversight and investigation with the ultimate goal of strengthening democracy in our hemisphere. I look forward to working with the Department of State, the elected leaders of the nations in our hemisphere and the various non-governmental organizations dedicated to freedom and democracy within our neighborhood to accomplish this objective. Thank you. Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is not Puerto Rico so it doesn t mean anything in terms of color. In Puerto Rico, of course, every color has political significance to it. Let me first start off by congratulating you on resuming the Chairmanship of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. I was here 10 years ago when you were the Chairman, and you look as young today as you did then. Mr. BURTON. I love that bologna. Mr. MENENDEZ. You haven t changed. Mr. BURTON. Thank you. Mr. MENENDEZ. But above all, I look forward to our work together. We have worked together in the past and I look forward to achieving many of the successes we enjoyed together now, as the Ranking Democrat, and I am sure on behalf of all of our Members, we look forward to working with you. We are incredibly appreciative of the robust nature of what you have laid out in the context of hearings. We think it is critical at this time in the hemisphere s interest and issues and it is really great to see the Committee holding a series of robust hearings, as well as your personal engagement in the process. That will inure to the benefit of our country, as well as to those in the hemisphere. As it relates to today s hearing, I do want to say that I think it is important and timely in the context of democracy in the hemisphere. The region has made tremendous progress and we should certainly celebrate that and not lose sight of it. VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

11 7 In the past quarter century, we have become a region of democracies, with, of course, the notable exception of Cuba. But the recent events in Bolivia serve as yet another wake up call that we cannot ignore the fragility of democracy and the destabilizing impact of poverty and exclusion in our own hemisphere. This crisis was born of the multiple factors which tear at the fabric of democracy an outraged, disenfranchised and poor population, a government with weak institutions and little capacity to govern, weak and evolving political parties, political players with radical agendas designed to destabilize the situation, and growing anti-americanism and anti-corporate sentiment. The people of the Americas, in my view, are frustrated and I know that there are some who will disagree, but I believe they are losing faith in what we call democracy. Democracy means little if you can t feed your family, if your children can t get an education and if you feel disenfranchised from your government. According to last year s UNDP report and reflected in other recent polls, over 50 percent of Latin Americans interviewed say they prefer an authoritarian government to a democratic one, if it could solve their economic difficulties. Now we may not like that reality and we may try to interpret it some other way, but if you travel the hemisphere and talk to many of its people, you will find out that that frustration is very real. As their frustration turns to anger, some are turning against democracy and democratically-elected leaders. Now don t get me wrong. We certainly support freedom of expression, but I am concerned that what we see in our hemisphere is a different phenomenon that the street is a substitute for the ballot box, that protests are a substitute for communication between citizens and their government. We also see another equally disturbing authoritarian trend as leaders in multiple countries act to decimate the basic structures of democracy. In Venezuela and Ecuador, Presidents Chavez and Gutierrez have packed their judiciary with their supporters. Chavez has also instituted a new media law to clamp down on free press. In Nicaragua, Sandanista and former President Daniel Ortega and former President Aleman have teamed up in an odd alliance to try to eliminate the power of the executive. In the midst of all of this, a number of governments are weak or unstable. They simply can t govern the entire country or provide basic services to their citizens. In Haiti, people are living in desperate conditions under a government that barely exists and with diminishing hope for democratic elections this fall. In Guatemala, President Berger is attempting to confront massive corruption and a huge narco-trafficking network, while juggling a poor and frustrated population, former military human rights abuses and their victims. Democracy in the region, therefore, in my view, is now at a critical moment. The time has come for the United States to take a stand for democracy in the Americas, by investing in the people of the Americas. VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

12 8 Up to this point, the Administration s policy in Latin America has been characterized, in my view, by a myopic tendency to rush in during a crisis and ignore the region the rest of the time. In my view, the Bush Administration has had no real policy on Latin American, outside of trade and counternarcotics programs. The President s fiscal year 2006 budget makes this clear. At a time when, as I have just described, democracy is threatened by frustration and poverty, the President has slashed development funding to the region by approximately 12 percent. This is the second year in a row that the Western Hemisphere has suffered significant cuts in the President s proposed budget. The President, in his State of the Union address, said that the United States should take a leadership role in supporting democracy around the world. Well, Mr. President, I agree and I challenge you to fulfill that promise in our own hemisphere, with our own neighbors. I believe the United States should take five concrete steps to refocus our hemispheric policy on democracy and development. First, let us work to restore the funding cut from the core development accounts to at least the fiscal year 2004 enacted levels, which were lower than I thought that they needed to be but certainly we are dramatically worse off today. Second, let us reengage in the hemisphere by appointing a new high profile special envoy to the hemisphere to assess the priorities of the other countries of the hemisphere, leading up to the Summit of the Americas. Thirdly, let us endorse President Carter s call to give the Inter- American Democratic Charter some teeth and engage in a substantive and meaningful dialogue with other countries on this issue. Fourthly, let us enhance the role of the National Endowment for Democracy and its core institutes in the Americas so that new funding is fairly distributed among the regions around the world and not exclusively focused on the Middle East. Fifth, let us support the Social Investment and Economic Development bill, a fund for social investment and economic development, a bipartisan bill which former Chairman Ballenger co-sponsored. I am very honored that Chairman Burton co-sponsored, as did many other Members of this Subcommittee. I believe our Latin America policy must be more than just free trade and more than counternarcotics. The time has come for the United States to reengage with our neighbors and to invest in social and economic development and democracy. I say so not just simply as a good neighbor, Mr. Chairman. As I am sure some of the travels that you intend to take will show you, this is in our own national interest. This is in our own national security. Every time I think about these issues, I think about what are some of the pressing issues here at home that people care about? If we want to stem the tide of undocumented immigrants coming into this country, then in part the reason they leave their countries is because of political unrest and economic necessity. VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

13 9 If we change those dynamics, we change the fundamental underpinnings as to why people come in an undocumented fashion in this country. Disease has no bearing and no border and in that context, our hemispheric interest in health care is crucial, and yet we cut some of the very essential programs that deal with that issue. The question of creating stronger economies in this region, in the interests of the United States, is: Where are Latin Americans most likely to buy? They are most likely to buy from the United States, yet we see a tremendous challenge from China, which I know is one of the subjects of your future hearings, in the context of the hemisphere. They get it. They understand it and they are making investments in the hemisphere and leaving us behind. That is a real challenge to us. When we create markets in Latin America, they are more likely to buy from Americans and that means American jobs and products being sold from the United States. I could go on through so many different dimensions as to how this impacts our own national interests and national security. If we want to ensure that terrorism does not take root in the Western Hemisphere, well then let us ensure that chaos and political unrest, fueled by economic instability, is not a reality, because it is under the cover of chaos that terrorists will have the opportunity to use the countries in which that chaotic situation exists to seek to attack the United States. So we are not just about being a good neighbor. This is about the national interests and national security of the United States. It is a time for a more robust engagement in the hemisphere. Mr. Chairman, I am looking forward, because of your interests, because of your commitment, because of the schedule that we have talked about, the issues that we will be pursuing, the travel that will be going on, that you can open the door to that more robust engagement. Mr. BURTON. Bob, thank you very much and I look forward to working with you and knowing how you worked with me and I worked with you in the past, I am sure we are going to be able to get some things done and I look forward to that. Would everybody take out their cell phones and turn them to vibrate, please? I am going to do that right now so that we don t have a bunch of phones going off here right in the middle of the hearing, because I may want to throw something at Delahunt and I want everybody to see that. I don t want anybody to miss that. Mr. DELAHUNT. I guarantee that. Mr. BURTON. Vice Chairman, Mr. Weller. Mr. WELLER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me first begin by commending you and Mr. Menendez for your enthusiasm and commitment as we move forward over the next 2 years and what is certainly an aggressive and ambitious agenda. I look forward to working with you and I also want to commend you for beginning this process by focusing on what is the most important issues in our hemisphere and that is the strength of democracy in Latin America. VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

14 10 I want to thank Assistant Secretary Noriega and Assistant Administrator Franco for joining us today. It is good to see you and it is a pleasure to work with you. It is easy to forget that less than two decades ago democracies were not very common in all of Latin America. Our hemisphere has come far and today only Cuba stands alone, as the last holdout of non-democratic totalitarian government. Mr. Chairman, I am concerned, however, about some of the trends that democracy has taken in the region. Corruption, narcotrafficking, violent crime and poverty are all factors that can weaken and can destabilize democracy. While democracy with free and fair elections is now becoming the norm in Latin America, there is still significant problems in many countries with transparency, lack of political opposition and declining civic interest and participation. Let me highlight two examples of particular concern to me. In Nicaragua, President Enrique Bolanos is working to maintain Nicaragua s democracy, but is facing the struggle with supporters of former President Aleman and former President Ortega, who we both recognize are corrupt political leaders, as well as former Presidents, who stand waiting in the wings should democracy fail. The threat to democracy here is real. The weakening of the democratic institutions in Nicaragua and a persistent threat by a corrupt few. In Venezuela, while President Chavez won his referendum and I would note I personally observed this referenda last August and was in Caracas, there are concerns that he is heading toward the authoritarian rule and that judicial independence and freedom of press are weakening. His rhetoric aligning himself with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, his insertion of tens of thousands of Cubans into Venezuela, and the often belligerent tone he has taken in the region, are causes for concern about the future of Venezuela s democracy. As I am sure will be detailed in the testimony today, there are many other countries in Latin America where the state of democracy is weak and vulnerable. The United States must continue as a partner with the region, not only in strengthening democracy and the rule of law, but also the economies of Latin America, giving the people a reason to support democracy and democratic institutions. President Bush made a bold step with the Millennium Challenge Account toward that goal and we must continue to actively support the MCA and work for its success. We also have a vibrant trade agenda in the Americas and I am hopeful we will soon be able to move forward on the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR CAFTA), a good agreement with six vitally important friends and allies in our own hemisphere that will help us compete in today s global economy, particularly with Asia and China. Trade agreements alone do not solve the weaknesses in democracy we are seeing, but the DR CAFTA agreement can be and will be a significant boost to democratic institutions and the rule of law. DR CAFTA will also help to grow the economies of some of our VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

15 11 closest neighbors, which are in competition, as I mentioned earlier, with Asia for jobs. Also, I look forward to the second panel. I want to commend the work the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute do for democracy-building in our hemisphere. Mr. Chairman and Mr. Menendez, as well as all my colleagues in the Subcommittee, I am looking forward to working with you to strengthen democracy in our own neighborhood, in our own hemisphere. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. BURTON. We are looking forward to working with you. You are going to be probably one of the most active people, Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee, and I know you have already been very active. We will look forward to working with you. Before we go to Mr. Faleomavaega, we have the Attorney General for Colombia, Mr. Camilo Osorio. We would like to say hello to you and thank you for being here, Mr. Attorney General. Thank you very much and we are looking forward to visiting with you when we come down to Bogota. Thank you for being here with us today. Mr. Faleomavaega. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have served as a Member of the International Relations Committee now for 17 years. First I would like to offer my personal compliments and welcome to my good friend, Secretary Noriega, for being here this afternoon and I certainly look forward to working with him. Mr. Chairman and Senior Ranking Member, I feel very encouraged. In fact, I could not think of a better leader as Chairman of this Subcommittee than you, Mr. Chairman, and I don t mean to do this to pat you on the back, because you are such a strong advocate of just about any issue that you take up and it is about time that Western Hemisphere has that kind of tenacity and real moxie, if you will. If you want to make an issue, you definitely will do it and I think this is going to be really good for the hemisphere. The reason for my Mr. MENENDEZ. Will the gentleman yield for one moment? Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Absolutely. Mr. MENENDEZ. You mean you couldn t think of any better Republican leader. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I stand corrected, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate Bob s comment, but what I wanted to say, Mr. Chairman is 17 years ago when I first came on this Committee, Africa, Western Hemisphere and Asia-Pacific were not even on the map. The whole mentality here in Washington was on the Middle East and Europe. Nobody wanted to talk about Western Hemisphere issues. It was always a half-hearted, part-time issue to say, Well I guess we have got to discuss it. I mean that was the attitude and I say this because I have been a Member of this Subcommittee and not denigrating any of our former Chairmans of this Subcommittee, but just simply saying that this is just how the whole system has been going on for all these years. I cannot say enough to thank the President s recent statements about democracy and freedom. In the years that I have served as a Member, this is the first President that I have ever heard who VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

16 12 is very serious about his proclamations, about democracy, about abuses, about human rights, about the need for the world, not just certain regions and certain countries, but really seeing the world in a sense that we need to live as a free people, no matter where you come from. I note with interest my personal tremendous interest that I have taken in being a Member of this Subcommittee, Mr. Chairman. Our relationship with Mexico, in my humble opinion, has got to be on top of the list, if we are ever going to do something that I think will take place or fall in proper perspective, when dealing with the rest of Latin America. Is it any wonder that China now is going to proceed with conducting a multi-billion dollar contract in oil and energy? The Western Hemisphere has these resources. We are constantly depending on the Middle East for oil and other energy resources, not realizing that Latin America has just as many resources, if we worked it properly with these countries. The situation that we now have also, Mr. Chairman, the plight of the indigenous Indians and the inhabitants throughout Latin America, I am very, very serious about the concerns of the needs of the indigenous inhabitants of these countries. We have these indigenous Indians living there and I think it goes without saying that there is very serious economic, social and political problems affecting the needs of some 90 million of these indigenous people that live in Latin America. We need to proceed to look into that very closely. All of that said, Mr. Chairman, again I welcome our witnesses and look forward to hearing from them and I look forward to working with you and our Ranking Member in the coming months and in the next 2 years of this Congress. Thank you. Mr. BURTON. Thank you Mr. Faleomavaega. I just want to tell you that we are still concerned about the dialysis machines that we have to get for the South Pacific and we are going to continue to fight that fight. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you. Mr. BURTON. Mr. McCaul, do you have any comments? Mr. MCCAUL. No comments. Mr. BURTON. Welcome. We look forward to working with you. I know you are one of our new Members. We are looking forward to getting to know you and maybe you can go with us on some of our codels. Mr. MCCAUL. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. BURTON. My good buddy, Mr. Delahunt. Mr. DELAHUNT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and let me welcome you back to the Subcommittee. You will bring a strong voice and a clear voice. Welcome back. Just some observations. I don t think we should delude ourselves into believing that democracy is not at risk in the hemisphere. There is rising inequality. Because of the past 15 years, that gap has been constantly increasing. There is rampant corruption in just about every nation in Latin America. Some obviously are in much better shape than others. I think it was the Ranking Member who indicated that a recent poll by the United Nations Development Program indicated that VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

17 13 more than half of Latin America would exchange democracy for an improved economy. Mr. Chairman, I think that your predecessor and Members of this Committee have been a significant voice in advocating the need to do something more, but it appears to me that very little has happened. We hear about the Millennium Challenge Account. I think there are three countries that qualify in Latin America for access to the Millennium Account. I believe, and I can stand corrected, Honduras, Nicaragua and a third country who escapes me right now. Bolivia. There are many more countries in Latin America that are on the cusp. One only has to review the countries, particularly in the Andean region, but let us not forget what happened in Argentina around 2 years ago, 3 years ago, when the middle class disappeared. It is absolutely essential that we increase and enhance, as best we can from this particular podium, from this venue, the need to address Latin America in a way that has never been addressed before. I applaud my Ranking Member, Mr. Menendez. He secured passage through the Committee last year for the social and economic development fund. We have to start to think large and his concept and his legislation is a step in that direction. I also appreciated, Mr. Chairman, your observation that we will travel and we will go there seeking to be a partner, not a big brother. I believe that has not been the case. I would hope in the future that despite what our preferences are, in terms of elections, as far as particular candidates are concerned, that we will exercise restraint. That would be a new chapter in our relationships with Latin America. That has not been the case and I think it has been a mistake and I think it has eroded the image of the United States in Latin America. I think that is a good beginning and I ask you, Mr. Chairman, to keep an open mind. Much of what I have heard today about Venezuela I would suggest to you is not the full story and I look forward to traveling with you, with my friend, Mr. Meeks, and others that may come to that meeting in Venezuela. I think what we have seen is a deterioration in the relationship that if it continues for both countries will be bad and I think it is something that we should make a concerted effort in an attempt to redress and just maybe we can do it here in this Congress and with that, I yield back. Mr. BURTON. Let me just say that I will look forward to going to Venezuela with you and we will meet with Mr. Chavez and his leaders in his government, and we will see if we can t figure out some way to work with them. Mr. Payne? Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for calling this very important hearing and I commend my fellow New Jersey Congressman, Mr. Menendez, for the diligence that he has had as it relates to Latin America in general over the years and VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

18 14 look forward to continuing working with him and you. And I would also urge, as it has been indicated, that you do travel and if you do intend to, please let all of us know and those of us who can work it in, I am sure we may not be able to do it all the time, but we would certainly have some interest in traveling with you, to see firsthand. I will be very brief. I think that we don t have a bad policy in Latin America. I don t think we have a policy and it is so important that we have a continent in our hemisphere so important to us, so much energy put in during the 1980s, even in the 1960s, Alliance for Progress, I mean you can go through these things. But today it seems like it is not a very strong program driven with overall goals. So I am hoping that perhaps in this session of Congress we could assist in recommending to the State Department how we could shape a policy toward Latin America. We certainly have not made funds available near adequate. We think the whole foreign affairs budget still is very paltry. I think we have gotten up to maybe over $20 billion and that is an all time high. Can t even get a percentage point of what our foreign assistance would be. I am not talking about military. I mean that has no limits. I am talking about foreign development assistance, health, education, literacy. Very, very low compared to our GDP. So I would hope that we could hear all sides. We have to have a more affirmative policy, if we are going to keep democracy flourishing in Latin America and I kind of agree that we need to try to work with Venezuela. It is an important country. New leadership has started. Universal literacy and education, which has never happened in Venezuela before and also have several thousand physicians that have come there from Cuba, I suppose, to start having primary health care. So there are a lot of bad things happening, from what I hear. However, evidently there are some things that are going on that is going to help the quality of life for the poorest people who are those that are forgotten in the barrios and flavaras over in Latin American in general. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. BURTON. We look forward to working with you as well, Mr. Payne. We have two votes on the Floor right now. We have about 8 minutes left in the first vote. If you would like to make opening statements now or if you would rather wait until we come back, I will leave that up to you, but if you are going to make opening statements, we have to swear you in. Would you rather wait, Mr. Noriega? Mr. NORIEGA. I think we would rather wait. Mr. BURTON. Rather wait? We will swear you in as soon as we get back. We will stand at the fall of the gavel. We will be back in about probably 15, 20 minutes. [Whereupon, at 2:20 p.m., the Subcommittee meeting was recessed.] Mr. BURTON. We would like to reconvene the meeting and would the gentlemen who are going to be testifying, please rise and raise your right hand. VerDate Mar :02 Sep 09, 2005 Jkt PO Frm Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\030905\ HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL